Psalm 89:9 You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.
As I read through the today's post, this verse stuck out to me. Yesterday, for whatever reason I was extremely stressed out. I'm getting ready to go on vacation and I guess all the preparations and to dos
just got to me. I couldn't seem to relax and go with the flow. The "need to dos" were drowning out my excitement about our upcoming cruise.
Then I read this verse this morning. And I thought to myself, "Wow. Could praising God bring stillness to my turbulent heart?" I absolutely believe it could. My emotions may be all over the place, rising and falling like tumultuous waves, but God is still good and still worthy of praise, and He is my calm in the storm. He even calms the storms!
I forgot all about these truths in the middle of the emotional whirlwind. Thank God it's a new day today! His tender mercies are new every morning!
There are two more sections on praise from my Mom that I will publish when I return from our trip. I look forward to getting more into this praise thing!
Lord, thank You for today's lesson. You are such a patient, loving teacher. And we are so blessed to call You Father. Thank You for this upcoming trip. I know it is You who give us all things to enjoy. You are worthy of praise each and every day, and focusing on You instead of our emotions or problems or to do lists brings peace to our souls. You are the peace giver, the way maker, the lover of our souls. Thank You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Memorize this verse today and keep it in your heart. See you in twelve days!
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Praise, From Mom Part 2
Praise is an act of worship or acknowledgment by which the virtue or deeds of another are recognized and extolled. Praise of God reflects a true servants heart. Praise toward God expresses our joy to the Lord. Praising God for Who He is reflects adoration. Praising God for what He does is known as thanksgiving. Praise invites God's Presence.
Psalm 63:7 Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
Praise goes in two directions. It praises God and calms our hearts. Psalm 29:11 The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace. Psalm 89:9 You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.
God is merciful. His love is unfailing and steadfast, His lovingkindness is shown in His grace to us.
Ephesians 1:3-14 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Where do we praise God? In His sanctuary, in nature, wherever I am. Why do we praise God? Because of what God does, who God is. He is the Almighty, the Creator, Sustainer of the universe.
How do we praise God? Loudly, softly, soothingly, enthusiastically, boldly, unexpectedly, fearlessly.
Who praises God? Everything, everyone, young, old, rich , poor, strong, weak, every living creature!
From me.
Lord, let us praise You every day. For everyday You are worthy! Your love for us knows no bounds, Your care is better than anything we could envision. You are always good and always doing right. I praise You today! Let Your praises ever be in my mouth and in my heart. In Jesus' Name amen!
Set aside time for "praise breaks."
Psalm 63:7 Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
Praise goes in two directions. It praises God and calms our hearts. Psalm 29:11 The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace. Psalm 89:9 You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.
God is merciful. His love is unfailing and steadfast, His lovingkindness is shown in His grace to us.
Ephesians 1:3-14 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Where do we praise God? In His sanctuary, in nature, wherever I am. Why do we praise God? Because of what God does, who God is. He is the Almighty, the Creator, Sustainer of the universe.
How do we praise God? Loudly, softly, soothingly, enthusiastically, boldly, unexpectedly, fearlessly.
Who praises God? Everything, everyone, young, old, rich , poor, strong, weak, every living creature!
From me.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
Lord, let us praise You every day. For everyday You are worthy! Your love for us knows no bounds, Your care is better than anything we could envision. You are always good and always doing right. I praise You today! Let Your praises ever be in my mouth and in my heart. In Jesus' Name amen!
Set aside time for "praise breaks."
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Praise, from Mom Part 1
Praise did a short study on praise from Psalm 63. Praise is such and integral part of our walk with the Lord, it's a great topic to delve into. My prayer, my hope everyday is to change my complaints into praise. Praise opens the door for God to work in our lives. Wow. There's a concept...If praise opens the door for God to work in me and my life, then the opposite is must also true....complaining opens the door for Satan to work....hmmm, just something to think about. Here's Mom's take on praise from Psalm 63.
1 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
6 When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
7 Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall fall by the sword;
They shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
Verses 1-5: Praise releases blessings and satisfaction. Verses 2-6 This is an example of true worship. Verse 5 My mouth shall praise You with joyful lips, look at the fruit.
In verse 1, "God, You are my God," confirms our relationship. "Early will I seek You," gives us clear priorities. "My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You," shows deep intensity.
In verse 2, "I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and glory," shows a desire for corporate worship.
In verse 3, "Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You," is an appropriate response.
In verse 5, "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips," gives the result. My soul will be satisfied, my personal needs met.
From me:
The Lord is good and worthy to be praised. Praise helps us keep the right perspective, opens doors to blessing, focuses us on the Lord and allows us to remain in His Presence. What could possible be better than that! Praise comes from a decision not a feeling. Trusting and praising goes beyond our circumstances, our feelings, our knowledge to the heart of who God is.
Lord, I praise You this morning. I know things in my life are not what I want them to be. But You are still good, still kind, still wise, still in control, still loving me. I know You are wonderful and creative and amazing and Your heart is perfect and for me. Lord, help us all to remember to praise even when we want to run from everything, even when our hearts are broken. Our circumstances don't change who you are. And you are always worthy of praise. There is none like You!!
Meditate on Psalm 63.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Question Time Again
This past Tuesday at our Ladies Bible Study we continued our work in Angela Thomas-Pharr's study entitled "Redeemed." Listening to this portion's video prompted a few of those uncomfortable, but oh so necessary questions I know are prompted by the Holy Spirit. He loves to nudge us into the unknown, the deep places that take us out of our comfort zone to another level of maturity and growth (hopefully!😊). I'm just going to list the questions here for you, like me, to bring to the Lord in prayer.
- Why d I think I am or need to be chained to my sin?
- Why do I still stand in my "sin cell" instead of walking out the door to freedom?
- What does freedom look like for me?
- Why drag around chains that Christ has already broken?
- If I let God take control, am I afraid He will not fulfill my dreams, my desires, my hopes?
- Am I afraid of what His vision is for my life?
- Will letting go of my wants break my heart?
Those are tough questions. My fellow study sister pointed out that a lot of our fear is based in unbelief. We don't believe God can do better. I think sometimes we carry around our chains, or stay in our boxes because we are comfortable where we are, change is hard, staying is easy and familiar, it feels safe to us even though it is unhealthy.
The last question is a major hurdle for me. I feel like if I let go of my desires and hopes my heart will shatter into a million pieces. And maybe it will. But maybe that is the only way I can be fixed by the Lord in order to soar. I'm not sure if I am up to the challenge of letting go...honestly it scares me beyond words. I can feel the sadness well up in me when I think of letting go of some things in my heart. Maybe confronting that fear in the Presence of the Lord is something I need to begin to do. Maybe you have a similar challenge to face.
This was a powerful session for me. I have some hard work to do. Scary! But what is on the other side of letting go? God's best for us.
Lord, these are hard questions with equally hard answers or answers that need to translate into action. I'm afraid of letting go. I know freedom requires movement on my part, it will require a decision and commitment...Lord I am terrified of losing my desires, even though I know those desires are most likely not right for me and not the best I can have in this life. Lord, help me to have faith, help all of us to have faith to go to You with these questions and then follow You in obedience and trust. Lord, this is really hard. Help us to believe You have so much more than we could come up with on our own, You have amazing things in store for each of us, and You will help us get there if we drop our chains, step out of our cells and follow You. Jesus is the chain breaker! He is the healer! Let us be brave!! In His holy and precious and freedom giving Name....amen
Have a sit down with the Lord!
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Decorating
Back into the archives again this week. I wrote an article entitled "Decorating" for our church newsletter some years ago. As I reread it recently (I've been cleaning out my paperwork 😊), I realized it just a pertinent to my life today as it was when I originally wrote it. I'm sharing it here with you all because I think we can all use the reminder to check out what's going on inside our hearts and minds.
For years now the Lord has been impressing on me that our lives, our hearts are like houses with rooms. I hear questions in my head like, "Whose house are you building?" and "What are you decorating it with?" As I was reading through Proverbs recently, chapter 24:3-4 brought these questions to mind. It says: A house is build by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of riches and valuables. So I have to ask, What are we decorating our rooms with? What does this house whose foundations are the apostles and the prophets, Jesus being the cornerstone, look like in you and in me?
God's Word is filled with instruction on what should and should not be in our hearts. Now remember what is going on in our heart will determine what is lived out in our lives. Matthew 12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. Mark 7:20-23 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” If your life is consistently exhibiting the kind of thinking and behavior mentioned in these verses, it's time to examine your heart.
Thinking of our hearts as a house, what are the rooms we have in it. Maybe there is a room for family, a room for church, for work, etcetera. What are you putting up as decor in these rooms? Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to be your designer or are you trying to do it yourself? Are you getting your decorating ideas from the Bible or from the world?
What are some of the worldly ways of decorating? Galatians 5:19-21 (The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.) and Colossians 3:5 (Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.) give us a pretty comprehensive list of worldly decorating. What behaviors can be traced to this kind of paint on your walls? Do you always need to be right? Do you spend more time in front of the TV than with God and family? Is greed for the good things of this life your flooring? You're standing on idolatry! How about the knickknacks sitting on your coffee table? Are they vases of decayed flowers, "anger, rage and malicious behavior?" Some other Scriptures that give us the world's idea of decorating:
Philippians 2:3a Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Psalm 10:2-3,7 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.... His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
Jeremiah 3:23a Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion.
That is our heart before Christ. After we put the blood of Christ on the door frame of our heart, things start to change. When we invite Him into our lives, it's like we are no on one of those make-over shows. In Ezekiel 36:26 the Lord tells us He is going to give us a new heart. "And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart." Our houses are getting a make-over! I can just see the big dumpster being parked out in the driveway!! Out goes all the junk! (Ow! Getting rid of the old stuff hurts.) Please refrain from picking through the garbage once it has been thrown out. Sometimes a bad habit that has become our comfortable comfort needs to go. We need to let go of the old furniture. That old chair may be comfortable, but it has holes and springs popping out and it smells bad. It won't fit in with the new creation God is making in our house.
So, starting with faith as our flooring, it's time to exchange the old for the new. God has created in us a clean heart and is ready to start renewing a right spirit with us (Psalm 51:10, author paraphrase). On the walls is new artwork. Pictures of the fruit of the Spirit that is. Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Yes, it takes time to do this make-over.
Just like you would spend time pouring over magazines and shopping to redecorate your house, you must spend time with Jesus, pouring over Scriptures, in prayer, learning what stays and what goes in order to fix up your spiritual house. We didn't get all the filth and grime and old broken-down pieces of furniture in our houses overnight. They were built up over a lifetime. So too, it will take time and hard work (get ready for some heavy lifting!) to renew this old house. Soon instead of seeing vases of anger, rage and malicious behavior on the coffee table, we will see beautiful blooms of mercy, kindness, generosity and compassion. Our new paint color will be called Love. Want some more decorating ideas? Try using praise for your roof (our praise goes up to heaven), and thanksgiving as area rugs (remembering to be thankful in every area of our lives).
It's our job to keep our houses (aka hearts) clean. Our Father tells us in 1 Peter 1:16 "You must be holy because I am holy." How do we keep our houses clean? By obedience . Psalm 119:9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. By confession and repentance. Psalm 66:18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. Psalm 51:17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
And let's go to one more area of our house. The safe. The place we keep our treasures. Hidden within our hearts should be the Word . Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. This is what we look at to see if we are getting the decor right. It is there to direct us, to warn us, correct us, and encourage us.
Are you ready for some redecorating?
For years now the Lord has been impressing on me that our lives, our hearts are like houses with rooms. I hear questions in my head like, "Whose house are you building?" and "What are you decorating it with?" As I was reading through Proverbs recently, chapter 24:3-4 brought these questions to mind. It says: A house is build by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of riches and valuables. So I have to ask, What are we decorating our rooms with? What does this house whose foundations are the apostles and the prophets, Jesus being the cornerstone, look like in you and in me?
God's Word is filled with instruction on what should and should not be in our hearts. Now remember what is going on in our heart will determine what is lived out in our lives. Matthew 12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. Mark 7:20-23 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” If your life is consistently exhibiting the kind of thinking and behavior mentioned in these verses, it's time to examine your heart.
Thinking of our hearts as a house, what are the rooms we have in it. Maybe there is a room for family, a room for church, for work, etcetera. What are you putting up as decor in these rooms? Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to be your designer or are you trying to do it yourself? Are you getting your decorating ideas from the Bible or from the world?
What are some of the worldly ways of decorating? Galatians 5:19-21 (The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.) and Colossians 3:5 (Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.) give us a pretty comprehensive list of worldly decorating. What behaviors can be traced to this kind of paint on your walls? Do you always need to be right? Do you spend more time in front of the TV than with God and family? Is greed for the good things of this life your flooring? You're standing on idolatry! How about the knickknacks sitting on your coffee table? Are they vases of decayed flowers, "anger, rage and malicious behavior?" Some other Scriptures that give us the world's idea of decorating:
Philippians 2:3a Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Psalm 10:2-3,7 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.... His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
Jeremiah 3:23a Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion.
That is our heart before Christ. After we put the blood of Christ on the door frame of our heart, things start to change. When we invite Him into our lives, it's like we are no on one of those make-over shows. In Ezekiel 36:26 the Lord tells us He is going to give us a new heart. "And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart." Our houses are getting a make-over! I can just see the big dumpster being parked out in the driveway!! Out goes all the junk! (Ow! Getting rid of the old stuff hurts.) Please refrain from picking through the garbage once it has been thrown out. Sometimes a bad habit that has become our comfortable comfort needs to go. We need to let go of the old furniture. That old chair may be comfortable, but it has holes and springs popping out and it smells bad. It won't fit in with the new creation God is making in our house.
So, starting with faith as our flooring, it's time to exchange the old for the new. God has created in us a clean heart and is ready to start renewing a right spirit with us (Psalm 51:10, author paraphrase). On the walls is new artwork. Pictures of the fruit of the Spirit that is. Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Yes, it takes time to do this make-over.
Just like you would spend time pouring over magazines and shopping to redecorate your house, you must spend time with Jesus, pouring over Scriptures, in prayer, learning what stays and what goes in order to fix up your spiritual house. We didn't get all the filth and grime and old broken-down pieces of furniture in our houses overnight. They were built up over a lifetime. So too, it will take time and hard work (get ready for some heavy lifting!) to renew this old house. Soon instead of seeing vases of anger, rage and malicious behavior on the coffee table, we will see beautiful blooms of mercy, kindness, generosity and compassion. Our new paint color will be called Love. Want some more decorating ideas? Try using praise for your roof (our praise goes up to heaven), and thanksgiving as area rugs (remembering to be thankful in every area of our lives).
It's our job to keep our houses (aka hearts) clean. Our Father tells us in 1 Peter 1:16 "You must be holy because I am holy." How do we keep our houses clean? By obedience . Psalm 119:9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. By confession and repentance. Psalm 66:18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. Psalm 51:17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
And let's go to one more area of our house. The safe. The place we keep our treasures. Hidden within our hearts should be the Word . Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. This is what we look at to see if we are getting the decor right. It is there to direct us, to warn us, correct us, and encourage us.
Are you ready for some redecorating?
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Three Furry Children
In 2012 I wrote a short article for our church newsletter. At that time I had three animals, two cats and a dog. I've since lost two of those three, and gained three more cats, but I thought this piece on how God loves us was so fitting for a Valentine's day message. Enjoy!
I have three furry children. One who loves me, but goes his own way more often than not. Happy go lucky, his own dog I guess you could call him. Another of my little four-legged kids, my first cat, is very angry with me right now, she wants very little to do with me, only if I bring her food is she accepting of me. The last of my children, the new cat (or the interloper as the first cat sees him), follows me around, loves my attention and lets me pretty much do whatever I want with him.
I am very sad about my first cat. I miss her love very much. I know she will come around eventually, but until then I wait for her, giving her the love she allows when she allows it. As I was cuddling with my new cat the thought struck me--I don't love him anymore than I love her. I love them both just as much. And then God spoke to my heat, "this is the way I feel about you." My heart just broke right there and then. My experience as a Christian is more like my dog (going my own way) and first cat (angry at God, mad at the world) than the new cat. And I guess I have always felt that God couldn't possible love me as much as He does someone who is obedient and doing everything right.
We all know them. Sister super-Christian who spends three hours a day in prayer and study. And Brother-darn near perfect, the one who always does everything right and evangelizes the world. Or so they seem to us strugglers. Well of course I never measured up to either of those ideals, still don't. For many years I walked around feeling second fiddle in God's eyes. But today, again, God revealed to me He loves me "just as I am." Now I have been learning this for a long time, but it was awesome to get a new revelation on it again today. I know that God loves me as much as He loves any of His children. He is pleased with me. And He loves you too--as much as any of His children and He is pleased with you too!! He told me to tell you so--yes, you reading this right now.
We do need to strive to be like my new cat. Following God closely ( I am always tripping over my new boy, he is so much underfoot). Yet we have to remember each of us have our own pace of growth set by Him. We each have our own way of prayer, study, evangelism--all to be set by the Lord. So be who God is leading you to be. Don't try to be someone else. And don't feel less than someone else. He made you fearfully and wonderfully and loves you "just as you are."
Today:
I am glad this lesson has been brought to me again. I can never get enough of hearing God loves me and never be reminded enough of how I am His treasured child. I can honestly say I doubt these truths so much less than I used to, although I still do occasionally go down the comparison road. I turn around a lot faster now too! LOL. Never think you are less than someone else in your Father's eyes. He has always, does now and will always love You completely, knowingly and eternally.
Thank You Lord. I am humbled and thrilled by this love of Yours! Let it sink down into every fiber of all of our beings so that we don't even take a breath without knowing we are loved by you.
When the lies of Satan that say you are unlovable or will never measure up stand on the truth of God's love. Happy Valentine's Day
I have three furry children. One who loves me, but goes his own way more often than not. Happy go lucky, his own dog I guess you could call him. Another of my little four-legged kids, my first cat, is very angry with me right now, she wants very little to do with me, only if I bring her food is she accepting of me. The last of my children, the new cat (or the interloper as the first cat sees him), follows me around, loves my attention and lets me pretty much do whatever I want with him.
I am very sad about my first cat. I miss her love very much. I know she will come around eventually, but until then I wait for her, giving her the love she allows when she allows it. As I was cuddling with my new cat the thought struck me--I don't love him anymore than I love her. I love them both just as much. And then God spoke to my heat, "this is the way I feel about you." My heart just broke right there and then. My experience as a Christian is more like my dog (going my own way) and first cat (angry at God, mad at the world) than the new cat. And I guess I have always felt that God couldn't possible love me as much as He does someone who is obedient and doing everything right.
We all know them. Sister super-Christian who spends three hours a day in prayer and study. And Brother-darn near perfect, the one who always does everything right and evangelizes the world. Or so they seem to us strugglers. Well of course I never measured up to either of those ideals, still don't. For many years I walked around feeling second fiddle in God's eyes. But today, again, God revealed to me He loves me "just as I am." Now I have been learning this for a long time, but it was awesome to get a new revelation on it again today. I know that God loves me as much as He loves any of His children. He is pleased with me. And He loves you too--as much as any of His children and He is pleased with you too!! He told me to tell you so--yes, you reading this right now.
We do need to strive to be like my new cat. Following God closely ( I am always tripping over my new boy, he is so much underfoot). Yet we have to remember each of us have our own pace of growth set by Him. We each have our own way of prayer, study, evangelism--all to be set by the Lord. So be who God is leading you to be. Don't try to be someone else. And don't feel less than someone else. He made you fearfully and wonderfully and loves you "just as you are."
Today:
I am glad this lesson has been brought to me again. I can never get enough of hearing God loves me and never be reminded enough of how I am His treasured child. I can honestly say I doubt these truths so much less than I used to, although I still do occasionally go down the comparison road. I turn around a lot faster now too! LOL. Never think you are less than someone else in your Father's eyes. He has always, does now and will always love You completely, knowingly and eternally.
Thank You Lord. I am humbled and thrilled by this love of Yours! Let it sink down into every fiber of all of our beings so that we don't even take a breath without knowing we are loved by you.
When the lies of Satan that say you are unlovable or will never measure up stand on the truth of God's love. Happy Valentine's Day
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Broken
Even my broken parts are part of the Lord's plans. He allows them to remind me of my utter dependence on Him. Alone I can be ugly and sinful. I misstep and misspeak often. I am forgetful. weak,prideful, addicted to the wrong things...but God! My heart desires to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth, but all too many times I get lazy and follow the feelings of my flesh. I am not saying these things because I feel bad about myself. I know I am a child of God...beautiful to Him even in my faultiness, because I am created in His image, brought by the blood of Jesus, a child of the most high King, clothed in His robe of righteousness (and so are you, by the way). But I am a fallible, failing human being living in a fallen world, which I fall prey to often.
I've had a song on my heart for the last week and listening to it this morning brought such peace to my heart. It reminds me that I can bring all this brokenness to God, giving Him my battered life and my damaged heart. As I pour these out before the Lord, He uses them for His purposes. Giving beauty for ashes. I love the beauty of God's reality. We bring our fragmented lives, the good, the bad and the ugly and He makes a life that brings Him glory. All we need to do is come open and willing to our Father and accept His loving grace.
2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. Can I get an AMEN!!
Hebrews 5:2 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. Ignorant and wayward I can surely be!
Romans 8:28-29 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. YES!!!
This is God's way of looking at our frailties. It gives me such hope and peace to know that even at my worst, God is working in me and my circumstances to make me into the image of Jesus. Often I feel like giving up, I get frustrated because I know my heart and I know that I fall so short, so often...but then something like this song comes along and reminds me that I am not alone, I am not outside of the Lord's hands. He works even in my brokenness. What a wonderful God visit.
Lord, thank You!!! A million times thank You!!! I come to You, open arms, open hands....take all of my weaknesses and failures and turn them into a life that glorifies You. Free me of my pride....I am nothing without You, nor do I want to be anything without You. My greatest desire is that You live through me and reach others through me. Change me in Your timing and in Your way. Hep me to learn patience as I wait for Your timing. I want to be "fixed" overnight! But that is not Your way. Help me love myself as I am and love others as they are...knowing we are all a work in progress! You are good! Thank You for Your grace. Always in the Name of Jesus.
Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Love yourself today and open your hands to God.
I've had a song on my heart for the last week and listening to it this morning brought such peace to my heart. It reminds me that I can bring all this brokenness to God, giving Him my battered life and my damaged heart. As I pour these out before the Lord, He uses them for His purposes. Giving beauty for ashes. I love the beauty of God's reality. We bring our fragmented lives, the good, the bad and the ugly and He makes a life that brings Him glory. All we need to do is come open and willing to our Father and accept His loving grace.
2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. Can I get an AMEN!!
Hebrews 5:2 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. Ignorant and wayward I can surely be!
Romans 8:28-29 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. YES!!!
This is God's way of looking at our frailties. It gives me such hope and peace to know that even at my worst, God is working in me and my circumstances to make me into the image of Jesus. Often I feel like giving up, I get frustrated because I know my heart and I know that I fall so short, so often...but then something like this song comes along and reminds me that I am not alone, I am not outside of the Lord's hands. He works even in my brokenness. What a wonderful God visit.
Lord, thank You!!! A million times thank You!!! I come to You, open arms, open hands....take all of my weaknesses and failures and turn them into a life that glorifies You. Free me of my pride....I am nothing without You, nor do I want to be anything without You. My greatest desire is that You live through me and reach others through me. Change me in Your timing and in Your way. Hep me to learn patience as I wait for Your timing. I want to be "fixed" overnight! But that is not Your way. Help me love myself as I am and love others as they are...knowing we are all a work in progress! You are good! Thank You for Your grace. Always in the Name of Jesus.
Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Love yourself today and open your hands to God.
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Check the Small Stuff
I just receive a shock....a financial shock specifically. My by-weekly health care payment more than doubled. I didn't realize it was coming. I wasn't paying attention. This morning it's still on my mind. There is nothing I can do about it right now... I have to wait until the end of the year to change coverage, but it brought a life lesson to me. Check out the small stuff. This can especially be true with my attitude.
You know I've been working on this years resolutions...Trust brings peace, gratitude brings joy. But I can see the old attitudes creeping back in....and I don't want that. I guess much the same way those New Years gym memberships start getting used less and less about now, and the junk food slowly sneaks back into so many diets...so my new attitude can start taking a back seat to the old me. And that is not acceptable.
So I love that this worldly problem reminded me to check my spiritual walk. We have to watch the small stuff to stay healthy. Whether it's slipping in our new "healthy eating" habits or allowing the old man to overtake the new one created in God's image, it's easy to slip and be less diligent.
Diligent. Alert. Careful. Active. These adjectives need to characterize our walk with God.
1 Peter 5:8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. I, for one, intend to stay on track!
Lord, keep us going in the direction You want to us go and grow. It's so easy to get distracted, to fall into old habits, to be too tired in life to keep diligent and aware. But that opens the door for Satan's schemes. Help us to guard our hearts and watch out for the small cracks that can happen if we don't keep check over our hearts and attitudes. Lord, I want to glorify You. In Jesus Name, amen.
Take time to get with the Lord and check out the small stuff of your spiritual life. Are there any thoughts or heart attitudes that while seemingly small, are actually doing a large amount of damage?
You know I've been working on this years resolutions...Trust brings peace, gratitude brings joy. But I can see the old attitudes creeping back in....and I don't want that. I guess much the same way those New Years gym memberships start getting used less and less about now, and the junk food slowly sneaks back into so many diets...so my new attitude can start taking a back seat to the old me. And that is not acceptable.
So I love that this worldly problem reminded me to check my spiritual walk. We have to watch the small stuff to stay healthy. Whether it's slipping in our new "healthy eating" habits or allowing the old man to overtake the new one created in God's image, it's easy to slip and be less diligent.
Diligent. Alert. Careful. Active. These adjectives need to characterize our walk with God.
1 Peter 5:8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. I, for one, intend to stay on track!
Lord, keep us going in the direction You want to us go and grow. It's so easy to get distracted, to fall into old habits, to be too tired in life to keep diligent and aware. But that opens the door for Satan's schemes. Help us to guard our hearts and watch out for the small cracks that can happen if we don't keep check over our hearts and attitudes. Lord, I want to glorify You. In Jesus Name, amen.
Take time to get with the Lord and check out the small stuff of your spiritual life. Are there any thoughts or heart attitudes that while seemingly small, are actually doing a large amount of damage?
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
A Little Note
Yesterday at work I was very tired....you know the times when you feel like keeping your eyes open is the most difficult thing to do, and yawn after yawn keeps coming. It had been a long day, up at 6:30 am and still going into the evening. I don't know about you but a lot of times when I get this tired every little thing becomes a major obstacle in my mind. Nothing seems to go right and grumbling is starting to win over being thankful. But God didn't forget about me, He was right there just waiting for the right moment to encourage.
I was walking through my work area when a small, bright red rectangle on the floor caught my drooping eyes. What is that? It wasn't there a couple of minutes ago...I was just working in that section.
I was walking through my work area when a small, bright red rectangle on the floor caught my drooping eyes. What is that? It wasn't there a couple of minutes ago...I was just working in that section.
The one side said "We have this HOPE as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19
And the flip side of the card said, "Cast your cares on God; that anchor holds. Frank Moor Colby."
God is so good. So sweet to us. I just read a devotional a couple of days ago about how our loving Father wants to be involved in every area of our lives, wants to help us and guide us through each part of our day. And this was just one of those instances where I felt and saw the truth of that statement. I was lifted up out of my weary doldrums, and even though still tired, gratitude was back on top! Who is like our God!
Your heart is so lovely, so kind....we are truly the most blessed people on earth! What a loving Father we have! Thank You for being intimately involved, tenderly caring. Open our eyes and hearts to these little moments each day. And use us to be that moment of encouragement to others. Thank You for carrying me last night. And I know You will do the same today. In Jesus' Name. Amen
Keep an eye open for the Lord's activity today.
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